LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant's sprained left ankle didn't feel strong enough for Bryant even to test it on the court Sunday before skipping the Lakers' game vs. Sacramento.

Bryant is considered doubtful to play Monday night in Phoenix, according to a Lakers spokesman.

If Bryant doesn't play against the Suns, he will have three more days of rest and treatment before the Lakers play their next game Friday night vs. Washington. Two days after that is the Lakers' only multi-game trip left this regular season: at Golden State, Minnesota, Milwaukee and Sacramento.

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni had expected Bryant to test the ankle in the hours before the game vs. the Kings on Sunday night, but Bryant opted to save the effort given the minimal chance he would actually play vs. Sacramento. He is also dealing with flu-like symptoms.

D'Antoni said Bryant has the ankle, the flu and "probably 15 other things going on" physically -- so some rest makes sense with the playoffs a month away and the Lakers increasingly assured of participating. D'Antoni called it "a great decision" made by Bryant and Lakers trainer Gary Vitti to sit out Sunday night.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Pau Gasol was in good spirits after another comfortable workout Friday as his recovery from a torn plantar fascia in his right foot, and Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni pegged Monday in Phoenix as the likely return date for Gasol.

Gasol was noncommital about when he would play again, but D'Antoni said Friday that Gasol would be back in his familiar roles starting and finishing games for the Lakers sooner or later.

"He's going to be a starter at some point, and he's going to be a big part of what we do," said D'Antoni, who might ease Gasol back into prominence depending on his conditioning.

D'Antoni said Tuesday that Gasol brings enough other qualities that he could finish games even though the Lakers have had success spreading the floor with perimeter shooters to go with Kobe Bryant-Dwight Howard pick-and-roll formations late in games. D'Antoni said it would be harder to use that alignment with Gasol, who isn't much of a 3-point shooter, but the "general plan" is for Gasol to finish games also.

Gasol has made clear that he prefers starting. D'Antoni has been using Earl Clark as the starting power forward for added athleticism and mobility, but Clark hasn't been increasingly inconsistent and ceding key minutes to Antawn Jamison.

Dwight Howard's shoulder couldn't be handled with enough care Wednesday night, and the Lakers' burgeoning optimism was stuffed by a come-from-ahead, 92-86 loss to an also-ran Phoenix Suns team that came in lamenting the offseason departure of Steve Nash to the Lakers.

Howard aggravated the labrum tear away from the bone in his right shoulder with 6:57 left in the game when he was stopped from going up for a shot under the basket by Phoenix's Shannon Brown. Howard sat out the rest of the game with an icepack on the shoulder. He has said he will have to deal with possible aggravations while trying to strengthen other parts of the shoulder to compensate for the injury.

The Lakers led, 78-73, when Howard went out -- and they lost the poise and flow that marked their past three games -- all victories. The Lakers got stagnant -- it didn't help them that Pau Gasol played almost the entire second half because of Earl Clark's foul trouble and then Howard's injury.

It will certainly be more interesting than the average game between two sub-.500 Pacific Division teams.

The Lakers play in Phoenix on Wednesday night in Steve Nash's first time back to face the Suns, whom he represented for 10 years over the course of two stints -- winning two NBA MVP trophies. Not only do the Lakers bring in Nash, they bring in the head coach who led the Suns to the Western Conference finals in 2006: Mike D'Antoni.

The Suns are in a rebuilding mode, particularly after parting ways with former D'Antoni assistant Alvin Gentry as head coach and hiring Lindsey Hunter on Jan. 20. Gentry might well wind up with the Lakers next season as a D'Antoni assistant again, but for now the Lakers still go in with a lot that reminds Phoenix of its past success.

"It's a joy to coach somebody like him, without a doubt," D'Antoni said about Nash.

D'Antoni went 3-4 against Phoenix while coach of the New York Knicks. Nash's appearance as a visitor at US Airways Center will be the first time for him since he played for Dallas at then-America West Arena on April 3, 2004.

When Steve Nash makes his much-anticipated return to Phoenix at month's end, the Lakers will have a familiar face on the Suns' side also.

Lindsey Hunter, who was a backup guard on the Lakers' 2002 NBA championship team, was announced as Phoenix's interim head coach Sunday. The Lakers traded Hunter the next year on draft day, more confident in the health of Derek Fisher, who had broken his foot twice previously, and acquired perimeter shooter Tracy Murray -- and also traded up in the draft to pick guard Kareem Rush.

The Suns' decision to part ways with Alvin Gentry as head coach quite likely will lead to Gentry coming to the Lakers to join D'Antoni, under whom he worked in Phoenix. The Lakers asked D'Antoni to keep Mike Brown's assistants on staff for this season, but expect significant changes for next season: No current Lakers assistant coach is under contract beyond this season.

The Lakers start their season-long seven-game trip Jan. 30 in Phoenix, where Nash played 10 years over two stints and won the NBA MVP in 2005 and '06. Nash already had one homecoming Sunday in Toronto, as he's a big deal in his native country.

Nash, who turns 39 on Feb. 7, also considered joining the Raptors in free agency over the summer in what would've been a lucrative but likely non-contending situation late in his career. Nash was also interested in going to the Knicks but ultimately preferred a sign-and-trade situation to end up with the Lakers on a three-year deal.

For the Phoenix Suns last season, Steve Nash averaged 31 1/2 minutes per game -- his least since the 1999-2000 season.

In his first two games under Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni, Nash played 41 minutes in an overtime game at Golden State and 38 vs. New York.

Asked Wednesday if he is concerned about limiting Nash's minutes, D'Antoni said: "Yeah, because I'll get killed if I say no."

D'Antoni joked: "He's only 38, come on."

But D'Antoni wasn't totally kidding, because he said he would rather let Nash play an extra three minutes to help win a game and give him the day off from practice the next day: "I think it's more important he plays." D'Antoni doesn't like to work players as strenuously on the practice court as many NBA coaches -- and he gave the Lakers the day off Thursday after Nash logged 31 minutes in the loss to Denver.

The Lakers live in a land of legends, reinforced Friday night with the unveiling of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's statue outside Staples Center.

Mike D'Antoni's impact on the Lakers is just beginning, but his imprint on the game itself is seen by how many teams have spread the floor to play faster through waves of pick-and-roll sets. Unlike Phil Jackson's triangle offense in Los Angeles, D'Antoni's offense remained after his departure from the Phoenix Suns, and they showcased the coming style for the Lakers in more ways than one Friday night.

The Lakers pulled away from the Suns, 114-102, in a game that looked like a Mike Brown-coached game with the fast-forward button pressed. Phoenix entered the game ranked second-to-last in points allowed and third-to-last in field-goal defense, an ongoing exhibit to the defensive challenges posed when playing D'Antoni's exciting way.

A still-living and -playing Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant had 31 points Friday night, but also Metta World Peace looked motivated by D'Antoni's encouraging words about World Peace's offensive capability Thursday. He delivered 22 points, including five 3-pointers.

Pau Gasol showed his jump-shooting ability by hitting his first five shots, standing all alone time after time while Dwight Howard set picks in D'Antoni style and drew the defense. The Lakers reached the 100-point plateau with 9:26 still to play, actually showing some depth by making their key surge while reserves Jordan Hill, Antawn Jamison and Chris Duhon played alongside Bryant and Gasol.

With Steve Nash's familiar No. 13 retired in Wilt Chamberlain's honor by the Lakers, Nash has decided he will wear No. 10 in purple and gold for the coming season.

Just like all the great soccer playmakers who've come before him and showcased that number on the pitch.

it's a fitting choice for Nash, a soccer fanatic and the Lakers' new point guard, as he comes to center the Lakers' offense, which struggled late in the season to get the ball to proven scorers Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in easy positions to do damage. (Bryant, Bynum and Gasol are -- appropriately enough -- also soccer fans. And Bryant wears No. 10 for USA Basketball, too.)

Nash will be introduced officially by the Lakers at noon Pacific time Wednesday. Free agents can first sign with their new teams at 9:01 p.m. Tuesday.